1. Field of Use
This invention relates generally to a display unit, usable for advertising or amusement purposes, for example, which comprises a relatively stationary object, such as an actual or simulated flowering plant, and a flying object, for example, such as a simulated flying creature in the form of a butterfly, hummingbird or flying insect, which flying object is driven by an electric motor in an undulating orbit relative to the stationary object and exhibits a reversal in the direction of orbit in response to periodic random collision with the stationary object or to periodic random excursions relative to the stationary object.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,180,932, issued Jan. 1, 1980, entitled "Animated Plant Display", discloses butterflies mounted on wires which are secured to a housing. A platform adjacent the wires rotates while the wires themselves are stationary and do not rotate. As the platform rotates, it successively strikes the wires to cause vibrations in the wires and in the simulated butterfly. It does not rely on centrifugal force and rotative wire movement to direct the butterfly in an annular path, but rather the butterfly movement is constrained to a straight line.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,477,157, issued Nov. 19, 1969, entitled "Advertising Display", shows a device simulating a firefly mounted on a flexible support which in turn is anchored in an angularly oriented flippable holding member. The member is attached to a rotatable shaft having a loose connection and imparts a jerking motion on the member. However, the angular movement in this device is not as a result of centrifugal force, but is an irregular movement caused by the loose connections and the type of flippable holding member to which a steel spring is attached.
Our co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 241,357, filed Sept. 4, l988, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,458, which issued Feb. 20, 1990 utilizes a battery operated drive means and is not reversible as to its direction of rotation, and an eccentric mounting of the wire is used to impart a particular flight pattern for the insect.